Skopos Labs Inc. Makes New $284,000 Investment in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Skopos Labs Inc. purchased a new position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CNC. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the third quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Centene in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.63. The company had a trading volume of 4,019,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,595,321. The firm has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $60.83 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.63.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 14.19%. The company had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.11 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.23.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.